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Too many people are still doing crunches to try and get a flat stomach and six pack abs. The truth, however, is that those crunches will not get you the results you want.

There are many skeptics and die-hard crunch addicts out there, so below I’m going to give you 7 reasons why you never need to do crunches or sit-ups again.

1) Crunches aren’t working for you now, and didn’t in the past, so why would they work in the future? It’s time to give them up for good.

You know the old saying about insanity? It’s doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Time to change it up!

2) Crunches are most dangerous when they are most effective.

When you are overweight, there can be a lot of resistance on the abs when you do crunches – and technically that is good…

HOWEVER, because your ab and low back muscles are weak, that’s when you use bad form and end up with a pain-in-the-neck or low back pain from crunches.

So even though crunches can work your abs as a beginner, they end up causing more harm than good.

3) On the other hand, crunches get LESS effective as you get leaner and fitter, because there is less resistance on the muscle and you’re now too strong to get anything out of crunches.

Here’s a dramatic demonstration of what I mean.

Take your left arm and extend it out to your side. Now clench your fist and do 20 biceps curls.
Now tell me, do you really think that will “work your biceps” and make them lean and sexy? Of course not!

So why would the same high-rep method of crunches work for your abs? It won’t, of course.

4) A couple of years ago, Men’s Health magazine made a big deal about a research study proving you would need to do 20,000 crunches to burn 1 pound of belly fat. Twenty thousand!

Even a “crunch fanatic” would need a few days to do 20,000 crunches. The bottom line is that ab crunches are a HUGE waste of time when you are trying to lose belly fat.

5) Even those lean, mixed martial artist guys don’t do crunches.

On the weekend, I was reading an interview with the trainer of world champion fighter, Georges St. Pierre, and the trainer explained how they don’t do crunches, but instead do anti-rotation and extension exercises for the abs.

6) Interval training works your abs harder than crunches.

Whether it’s sprints or kettlebell swings, your abs will shape up faster with interval training than they will with crunches. Guaranteed.

7) Crunches don’t make your abs “pop out”.

Unfortunately, even if you lose your belly fat, you still won’t get that “pop out” look in your abdominal area. Crunches will never do that, but fortunately, if you do use the correct exercises, your abs will be popping out rather easily.

So there are 7 reasons to stop wasting your time on ineffective and potentially injury-inducing crunches.

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Today, you’re going to discover the six-pack abs approved abdominal exercise substitution list AND 1 exercise you should never do.

Please print this exercise substitution list out and email it to your friends. Heck, you could even post it at your gym.

HERE WE GO – starting with the 1 exercise NEVER to do…

Now yesterday I told you about how I saw a trainer put his client through a BACK-DESTROYING exercise, and here’s what it was:

The exercise was weighted Stability Ball Crunches – but there were not normal crunches on the ball that you see people do. No way.

You see, not only did the client do a full-on sit-up motion, but she kept going – violently – into a total body flexion movement that ended with her almost putting her head between her knees.

But doing any type of spinal flexion can be harmful to your low back because this will compress the disks in your spine.

In fact, Dr. Stuart McGill, the world’s expert on low-back injuries and abdominal training, said in a recent New York Times article, “…no sit-ups, they place devastating loads on the disks.”

The disks in your spine are the same disks that get herniated in low back injury. And moves like sit-ups essentially CRUSH the disks between the bones in your spine, causing terrible pain and nerve damage.

So STOP doing crunches and sit-ups!

Fortunately, you can still get six-pack abs and a flat, sexy stomach by using back-friendly ab exercises instead.

Now let’s take a look at how we can make some of these back-friendly ab exercises even harder for your abs:

1. How to increase the difficulty of the Plank

First of all, before you move on from the plank, you have to master it.

Dr. McGill says that we should all be able to do a plank for 2 minutes straight.

Now I’ll be honest, I let myself go on this exercise last summer, and not surprisingly, it was probably one of the reasons I had back pain.

At one point, I was only able to do a strict plank for 75 seconds, but I’ve worked my way back up over 135 seconds, and now my back pain is gone.

You can also do pushup-planks, as those will help prepare you for pushups if you are a beginner.

Eventually you will graduate to the Stability Ball Plank, which is 30% harder for your abs than regular planks.

2. Harder versions of the Side Plank

Advanced versions include the Side Plank with Leg Raise and Side Plank with DB Lateral Raise (allowing you to train your shoulders at the same time). Dr. McGill adds that we should be able to do aside plank for 90 seconds straight.

3. Mountain Climbers substitutions

You can use the Spiderman Climb exercise as a replacement, and this is excellent for lower-body and hip mobility.

A harder version of mountain climbers is the Cross-Body Mountain Climber, and you can also do mountain climbers with your hands on the ball or with your hands on the floor and feet on the ball.

One of my favorite advanced versions is the “Hands on the Floor, Feet on the Ball Cross-body Mountain Climber” or even the “EXTREME X-Body Mountain Climber”.

Stability Ball NOTE

If you don’t have a ball, you need to get one. They are cheap, and I’m not asking you to do any dangerous circus tricks on them!

But if you don’t have a ball, you can replace the Stability Ball Plank with the Mountain Climber exercise, but it will not be as difficult.

4. How to increase the difficulty of the Stability Ball Jackknife

Eventually you’ll progress to the Stability Ball Pike. And another way to do this exercise is using the TRX straps. That is one of the exercises that gets improved by the TRX. Very effective movement. But even with the ball you can step up your training by using this exercise.

5. The Stability Ball Pike

This is another exercise improved by using the TRX, as well as a cool toy I bought called the Power Wheel. The key to the exercise is raising your hips up as high as possible, and again, using the Power Wheel or TRX allows you to do that better.

6. Alternatives for the Stability Ball Rollout

If you are new to this exercise, you can use a modified Roll-out that is easier.

Plus, you can substitute an ab wheel in place of the ball or you can even use the TRX in a similar type of movement. It works because you are fighting the extension of your torso.

Stretch your abs on the way out, and contract your abs to return to the starting position. This movement will leave your abs quite sore if it is a new exercise for you!

7. Additional Advanced Abs Exercises

Once you’ve dominated all of these Stability Ball exercises, you can move to traditional advanced ab exercises of of Hanging Knee Ups and Hanging Leg Raises.

However, you should only do these exercises if you can fully ELIMINATE momentum from the exercise. Do NOT swing your hips or rock back and forth.

8. Pushups That Workout Your Abs

You should also understand that a LOT of traditional exercises work your abs and slight variations of traditional moves can work your abs very hard.

For example, some of the best pushups for abs include:

* Elevated Pushups

* T-Pushup

* Spiderman Pushups

* Decline Spiderman Pushups

You’ll get all of these in six pack abs home workouts, of course.

9. Pulling Exercises that work your abs

Back in the day, I trained a fit woman who had never been asked to do a chin-up by her previous trainers. So I had her do 2-3 sets of 3-5 repetitions.

She came back the next session and couldn’t believe how sore her abs were from this exercise. So again, you will get a lot of ab work from traditional movements. In addition to the chin-up, here are my favorite “total body pulling muscle ab exercises”.

* DB Renegade Row

* Pullups

* Chinups/Pullups with kneeups

* Spiderman Pullups

Use those to make your workouts more efficient.

10. Shoulder/Arm Exercises

YES, you can use shoulder and arm exercises to work your abs. Any time you do a standing exercise, you’ll need to brace your abs HARD in order to maintain a stiff torso. That works your abs as hard as planks and side planks.

Plus, in the triceps extension exercise, you are stretching your abs as you lower the weight and contracting your abs as you contract your triceps to return the dumbbells or bar to the start position. I’ve had super-sore abs just from doing triceps!

So here are my favorite upper body exercises for abs:

* 1-Arm Press

* 1-Arm Curl

* DB Triceps Extension

Hope you enjoyed that massive list of ab exercise substitutions!

Just say NO to crunches!

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health and Oxygen magazines and will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment.

Discover the most effective home abs workouts to build ripped six pack abs in less workout time than ever before.

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Abs are made in the kitchen. That’s a popular phrase going around the fitness world these days.

Well, it sounds nice, but it really isn’t true (unless you have some really weird home gym set-up).

The truth is, your abs are still made in the gym from the exercises you do. But your abs certainly can be defined by what you do in the kitchen in terms of nutrition.

After all, you can do all the ab-building exercises you want, but if you aren’t eating for fat loss, then you are never going to see your abs.

So is your nutrition good enough to get the job done?

If not, what’s your excuse? Not enough time, right? Or on the go too much, and your options are a greasy cheeseburger or a slice of pizza?

Well let me tell you, nutrition planning is one of the keys to fat loss. If you don’t plan ahead, don’t expect to burst through any fat loss plateaus any time soon.

And that’s why today, Sunday, is the answer to the problem. Because today, assuming you work a M-F job, you have the time to plan your meals, go to the grocery store, and prepare your meal plan for the week.

And don’t tell me this is too much work. You can easily accomplish this in 2 hours. One hour to get to the grocery store and back, and the other hour to prepare your meat and vegetables for the rest of the week. For more information on how to prepare your weekly nutrition, and for a copy of my shopping list, click here.

Abs can be yours if you are consistent.

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Mens Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines and all over the Internet, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com

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This is TT Hardcore Workout C.

This metabolic resistance circuit that we start with is one of my favorites I’ve ever put together. This will challenge you in so many different ways.

Start with a depth jump. Elevate yourself a little less than a foot or even less than that. If you are not ready for the jump, you can do regular jumps or bodyweight squats. However, if you are only able to do bodyweight squats, you are probably in the wrong workout. It’s very advanced. Make sure you do not preform this on concrete floors.

Step off with one foot and right into a squat and immediately jump straight up and land soft with your hips back to absorb the force of the jump with your muscles. You will do 6 reps.

Move to a deadlift. You will hold for a 2 second pause at the bottom of each repetition. Move the bar right up against your shins, use an overhand grip, press your hips back while arching your lower back. Pull up and slowly lower down for 3 seconds, pausing for 1 count. Reset, arch your back and pull up. Do 8 reps.

Move immediately into pushups. You will be doing 50% of your maximum number (if you can do 60, you will only do 30). Lower down, keeping your abs braced and holding your body in a straight line and drive back up.

Finish with a Turkish get-up with a kettlebell. Lie down, bring the weight up pressing strong. come up and slide your leg up and under while holding your arm up and keeping your shoulder in a strong position the entire time. Move your leg back out and slowly lower down without losing control of your arm and weight. Do all reps on one side and then switch and repeat on the other side.

That concludes our first metabolic circuit of Workout C.

The second metabolic circuit starts with a 1-leg bench squat. Stand on the bench with your hands out in front of you. Step off the bench to the side, while you push your hips back for a 4 second lowering phase. You can touch the floor if you need to, but if you can control it, just stop right before your foot reaches the floor and come back up. Do 10 reps and repeat on the other side.

After that, you will do renegade rows with either flat hex dumbbells or kettlebells. Start with your body in a straight line with your abs braced. Row the weights up and alternate sides (using the same amount of weights on each side).

You will be doing pushups with your hands on the stability ball. These work your triceps a little more. Keep your body in a straight line and lower down. Drive back up. Some people have some wrist problems with that exercise, so you can do a different kind of pushup in place of them. You can do pushups with your feet on the ball or close grip type pushups.

Finish with hanging leg raises. The easiest grip is with the bars that go straight out so your palms face one another. Keep your abs braced and bring your legs up. Keep it controlled on the way down.

If you can’t do those, you can do stability ball rollouts in place of them. Roll out with a stretch on the way out, keeping it controlled and contract your abs on the way up.

And, we have one more superset to go.

First up will be a burpee/chin-up combo. You will start with a burpee, dropping down, add a pushup and come back up with a jump. Then move immediately into a chin-up with an underhand grip. Go right back into a burpee and then a chin-up. This is great for people who can’t do so many chin-ups in a row. You will get that little break with the burpee. You want to do 10 of these, but if you can’t do 10 chinups, just do as many as you can and then finish the rest with just burpees.

For the last exercise, you will do cross body mountain climbers with your feet on the ball. This is a little bit harder than the ones we did earlier. Do 8 reps per side (alternating sides).

Rest and repeat.

Finish up with adrenaline interval training. This time you will do 36 seconds of work with 54 seconds of recovery. This is still the same 2-3 ratio of interval training to rest. It’s a lot easier to do on a machine for interval training.

2 things you can change up, you can do your interval training the day after your workout days. You can change that up so you can do shorter workouts.

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Start with a barbell complex, but start with an empty barbell for the first time you go through this. You can even use a broomstick for this. If you are training at home, you can even use dumbbells.

Start with Romanian Dead Lifts. Press your hips back as far as you can, keep a flat back and then drive back up to feel that stretch in your hamstrings.

Next up is a hang clean (6 reps), so you will do a little dip, drive up and catch the bar underneath. You want to get that extension, especially when you have some weight on it.

Move right into front squats. Keep your elbows up, push your hips back as you lower and drive back up for 6 reps.

Next is a military press. You will be limited in this entire complex by the weight you can military press or push press, but I want you to choose a weight you can press overhead 15 times. Press up and with your last one, bring the bar behind your head to move directly into a back squat.

You will find that your upper back and legs will be a little fatigued with this complex.

Do these 6 exercises with 6 repetitions for each one, rest and repeat for a total of 3 times through.

After the complex, we’re going to move into a couple of tri-sets. We’ll have a lot of resistance training, but no interval training.

Move right into a 3-exercise circuit starting with either underhanded inverted rows or a chin-up with knee up.

For the chin-up with knee-up, we’re going to combine our lats and biceps with abs. Use an underhand grip, do a chin-up while bringing your knees up and back down nice and slow. Do 2 reps short of failure (if you can do 10 of them, you will only do 8).

If you cannot do the chin-up with knee up, you can do underhanded inverted rows instead. With your palms facing you and your body in a straight line, pull yourself up and slowly lower back down. This is an easier exercise, but if you want to work your upper back a bit more, this will do that.

Next, move into spiderman climb pushups. These are the same as spiderman pushups, except you will touch your foot to the ground. Start in pushup position and bring your knee to your elbow as you lower down. Keep your abs braced. Do 1 repetition short of failure for these. If you can do 10 reps, then only do 9 reps.

Finish this circuit with a 1-leg stability ball leg curls (this is why we did so much hamstring warmup). This is a powerful exercise for your hamstrings. Raise one leg up and bridge your hips. Curl the ball in and back out, contracting your hamstring. Do all reps on one side and repeat on the other side.

Rest 1 minute and repeat this circuit 2 more times.

We’re going to finish this workout with something that is a bit different than usual. We’ll finish with 3 exercises in a circuit, but we’re going to do 5 reps for each.

First up are incline presses. Drive up and in and slowly lower down and out for 3 seconds. With the incline, you will be working the deltoid muscles more.

Move directly into dumbbell split squats. You will probably use lighter weights for these. Start with your lead leg out in front. Your lead leg will be doing all the work, while your rear leg will be used for balance and stretching through your quadricep. Lower and hold for a 1 second pause at the bottom and drive back up through your lead leg (quadricep) and your glute. Do 5 reps on each side.

Next move into a stability ball ab pike. Start with your feet on the ball and keep your body in a straight line. Push your hips straight up pike in and back out. Go as high as you can. You will do 5 reps.

Rest 1 minute and repeat 4 more times (for a total of 5 times total).

At this point, you may be fairly tired out, but you still might be able to press out a decent amount of weight.

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This is Workout A from the TT Hardcore 2K10 program.

We’re going to start with a metabolic resistance circuit of 4 exercises starting with an explosive power exercise with 3 vertical jumps (each one being it’s own repetition). You can do these with your hands up behind your head. Squat down and drive up and land soft on your feet with your knees bent and your hips back. Use your muscles to absorb the force.

You will next move into dumbbell chest presses. Lie flat on the bench and press up and in, slowly lower down and out for 3 reps.

Next, move into dumbbell reverse lunges (you will probably use lighter weights than you were using for the chest press). Step back with your chest up, using your lead leg to pull you back up while you contract your glute. Do all reps on one side and then switch to the other side.

The next exercise will be a 45 second stability ball plank. Keep your body in a straight line and hold with your abs braced and breathe normal. This is an advanced exercise.

Up next, we have another metabolic circuit of 5 exercises starting with pull-ups. I want you to go 2 reps short of failure, so if you can do 10, you will only do 8.

Take an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder width apart, pull your chest up to the bar and keep it controlled on the way down.

Next, move into dips, doing 2 reps short of failure. I want you to keep your knees up and your body forward to keep the stress off of your shoulder joints. Slowly lower down and drive back up.

Next up are dumbbell rows with 12 reps per side. Start with your knee bent and a flat back with a slight bend in your elbow. Row up and slowly down. Repeat reps on other side.

Cross Body Mountain Climbers are next. This is one of my favorite oblique exercises. Start out in a pushup position and brace your abs. Bring your right knee to your left elbow, keeping your abs braced and alternating sides.

Grab another set of dumbbells for rear deltoid raises. Press your hips back with a flat back. Raise your arms out to the sides and slowly lower down.

Go through this circuit a couple of times and then finish with adrenaline interval training (24 seconds on and 36 seconds off) each week you will do more according to the manual.

This is a really tough workout and will probably take you close to an hour to get through it, but this is hardcore.

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This is TT Hardcore 2010. We’re going to start with our bodyweight warmup and I’m representing North Park High School in Brampton. I spoke to the kids there last week and it was a lot of fun. They were nice enough to give me this T-shirt afterwards.

These workouts are advanced and they will take you about an hour to get through them.

For our warmup, start out with a bodyweight squat with your arms straight out and keep your chest up high as you squat and drive back up.

Next, we’ll get a little dynamic flexibility work for your hamstrings with some leg swings. Each repetition you will go a little farther than the last one. Don’t over-do it because you haven’t been really warmed up, but this will give you a good stretch and a better range of motion in your hamstrings.

After you’ve done both legs with the leg swings, move into a lateral lunge. Step out and down and drive up with your leg while you keep your chest out. This will give you a nice stretch through the groin.

Next, move into a prone stick-up to get your upper back and shoulder mobility going. Lay down on your chest and squeeze your shoulder blades down and together as you move your arms out. Tuck them back in and back down.

Close grip pushups are next. Place your hands shoulder width apart, keeping your body in a straight line with your abs braced. Drop down with your elbows tucked in and drive back up through your triceps, chest and shoulders.

These workouts have quite a bit of intense hamstring contractions in them, so were going to warm them up more with a 1-leg Romanian Dead lift (RDL). Stand on one leg and drive your hips back with your other leg behind you. Stretch the hamstring of your planted leg and bring it back up. Repeat on the other side.

Next, well finish with 2 stretches. The first one will be a hip flexor and psoas stretch. Kneel down with one arm up and lean back and to the side a bit. Youll feel this through your rectus femoris, quads and through your waist. This area gets very tight with all the sitting we all do. Hold this for 30 seconds and then repeat the stretch on the other side.

The next one will be a chest stretch. Place your hand against a wall and rotating away. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat on the other side.

Rest 1 minute and repeat this circuit one more time before you move into Workouts A, B and C of TT Hardcore 2K10.

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This is Workout C from the TT AAA Abs program. We’ve already gone through 2 intense workouts, but we’re going to finish off with a total body circuit called the X9 Factor.

Start with kettlebell swings. These are 2-hand swings and you need to power up with the hips. Drive them back and power them back up.

Move immediately into extended pushups. Move your arms out in front of you as you lower yourself down and back up.

The next exercise is a stability ball pike. This is a more advanced version of the stability ball jackknife. Place your feet on the ball and your hands on the floor and pull the ball in as you push your hips up until you are in a pike position. Try to get your hips as high up as possible. If you are not very flexible, just do jackknifes in place of them.

Move immediately into stability ball back extensions. Plant your feet against a wall or something stable. Your chest is supported by the ball. Place your hands behind your head and raise yourself up and back down.

Next is a 1-arm kettlebell swing. Make sure you are driving back with your hips and back up. If you are more advanced, you can do snatches in place of the swings. Do all reps on one side and then do all reps on the other side.

Next you will do high rep close grip pushups. Tuck your elbows into your sides with your hands closer together as you move down and back up. Do as many as you can.

Move immediately into stability ball leg curls. Place your feet on the ball and bridge your hips up with your arms out to the side. Curl the ball in while keeping your hips up the entire time. Do 20 reps.

The next exercise is a stability ball rollout. Place the ball in front of you and start in an upright position, roll the ball out. Get a nice long stretch as you roll out and contract your abs when you pull it back in. If you have an ab wheel, you can use that in place of a stability ball. This is going to be harder than using a stability ball.

Finally, you’re going to finish off preferably with a sprint as the last exercise. If you can’t do sprinting, you can sprint in place or finish with burpees.

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Now that you are warmed up, you’re going to start this workout with a tri-set or a mini circuit.

Move right into the maximum number of underhanded grip chin-ups in perfect form. With your palms facing toward you and your hands about shoulder width apart or slightly wider, pull yourself up so your chin is over the bar. Pull up and slowly back down.

If you can’t do chin-ups, you can substitute these with underhand inverted rows or you can skip this one. For inverted rows, set your bar up and grip the bar with your palms facing back. Row your chest up to the bar and back down. Do the maximum amount of reps.

Without rest, move immediately into push-ups. Again, you’ll do the maximum number of push-ups as you can for this. When you do these, you’ll probably only going to be able to do about 60-70% of your normal maximum push up number.

Move immediately into dumbbell forward lunges, alternating sides. You can either do these in the same place or do walking lunges.

Rest 1 minute and repeat this circuit 1 more time. This is a little bit of competition for your grip, so you won’t have great results in the second round, but after you’ve done this workout for a couple of weeks, you will see improvement with your performance with the second round, especially in the number of push-ups after doing the chin-ups.

In the next superset you will start with dumbbell step-ups. Put one foot up onto a bench and pull yourself up by driving through your heel. Slowly lower back down with putting all of your weight on your lead leg. Repeat this on the other side.

Move immediately into dumbbell pullovers on the stability ball. If you are not comfortable with your balance on the ball, you can do this movement on the bench instead. By using the ball, this will allow a little more of a stretch in your abdominals, which is what were after with this. Slide out on the ball and keep your hips bridged up at all times. Hold the dumbbell straight up and slowly lower it back down and stretch out. Contract your abdominals on the way up. Make sure you keep your hips up throughout the entire exercise for perfect form.

The final superset will start with renegade rows with dumbbells. Its best to use the hexagon dumbbells on a flat surface so they stay in place. If you only have rounded dumbbells, you will want to use dumbbell rows instead or you can even use kettlebells.

Place the dumbbells under you in the push-up position with your body in a straight line and your abs braced and your feet apart. Your external obliques are going to work really hard to maintain that straight body position. Row the dumbbell up and slowly back down, while minimizing the movement at your hips. Keep this very strong and very straight.

Move immediately into 2 handed kettlebell swings. Swing down and back up driving through your hips.

Finish this workout with bodyweight interval training. This is really a unique training program, but probably one of the hardest ones that I’ve put together.

Start out with 10 squat jumps, rest for 10 seconds and then repeat this 3 more times, for a total of 4 sets of 10.

Next you will do 10 pogo calf jumps, rest for 10 seconds and then repeat this 3 more times, for a total of 4 sets of 10. Bounce on the balls of your feet and bring your toes up as you jump up.

After that you’ll do 10 stability ball jackknifes, rest for 10 seconds and repeat this 3 more times for a total of 4 sets of 10. You can either do these with your hands on the floor or on a bench. If you are more advanced, you can hold a plank position for the 10 second rest.

Finally, finish this out with 5 Turkish get-ups per side, rest for 10 seconds and repeat this 3 more times for a total of 4 sets. Keep your arm extended up the entire time.

Make sure you perform this circuit on a softer surface, not on pavement or concrete. The best place would be out on the grass or a soccer field. Make sure you are landing properly too. If you are not comfortable with the jumps, just so bodyweight squats or jumping jacks or something else that is lower impact.

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In this warm-up you will do a circuit of bodyweight exercises, with no rest in between. Once you’ve gone through one time, rest 30 seconds and repeat one to two more times.

The first exercise of the bodyweight warm-up is an Overhead Squat. So if you can, grab a broomstick and place it overhead as this will help to open your chest, while also working your upper back. Next, place your feet just wider than hip-width apart, push your hips back and squat down and then back up.

By having the broomstick up overhead makes it easier to keep your hands back and shoulder blades together.

After you do the overhead squat, the next exercise is the Elevated Push-up. So, in a regular push-up position, place one hand on an object that is 4-6 inches off the ground and then do a push-up. Perform all reps for one side and then switch sides.

The next exercise is the Stability Ball Hip Extension. This exercise is similar to the leg curl in that you are working the hamstrings, but has a slight variation. So lay on the ground and drive your heels straight down into the ball so the ball doesn’t roll away from you. Next, bridge your hips up and then back down (don’t touch the floor). You will find that when you are in the top position your hamstrings are really going to be working to produce a powerful contraction.

Next you will do “Ys” and “Ts” using the ball to support your bodyweight. To start, place the balls of your feet on the floor, your chest on the ball with arms up in a “Y” position, and thumbs pointed towards the ceiling. The focus in this exercise is to really work the muscles between your shoulder blades. Try not to use your shoulders too much.

The “Ts” are the same as the “Ys” with the exception being your arms are straight out to your sides in this exercise. You’ll find in this exercise it is easier to squeeze the muscle between the shoulder blades.

To finish off the bodyweight warm-up you will do regular jumping jacks. The key with this exercise is to make sure your arms go straight up overhead, keeping your hands back. This will ensure you’re working the muscles between the shoulder blades and ultimately improving your shoulder mobility.

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